+
+
PARTY PENALTIES
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
EMILY DONOVAN
news@kansan.com
Those who host may or may not lose the most.
Lawrence police crack down on noise violations and alcohol laws
The last big party Tim Hewitt, a senior from Arkansas City, held got a little out of hand.
Hewitt and his two roommates sold all 200 cups by 11 p.m. For $5, guests filled up on either two kegs of Natural Light or an Everclear, vodka and Gatorade mix.
The roommates would walk away from the night with $175 profit.
"Absolutely, hosting a kegger would be very profitable," said Matt Green, manager of On the Rocks.
Cheap beer kegs — Natural Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Keystone Light — cost $4.99 at On the Rocks and typically have 160 12-ounce servings. Hewitt and his roommates
also spent about $100 on the Gatorade mix.
The problem? It's illegal to sell alcohol without a license. It's also illegal to sell alcohol to a minor and to host a minor. Since a policy change in 2007, Lawrence police have consistently enforced these laws starting with the second violation.
On the first noise violation, Lawrence police explain the city ordinances and issue a verbal warning, unless something else and more serious is going on.
If police have to respond to another noise violation for the same residence within 12 months, a citation has to be issued.
"Once we're there for some lawful purpose, chances are we're going to make some observations, like a sign saying 'Beer: $5,' McKinley said.
The big mistake hosts can make, McKinley said, is not answering the door. An officer is assigned to follow up that night or the next business day, contact the landlord, contact parents who have co-signed the lease and find the hosts, even at work or class. Penalties in this case,McKinley said, are more severe.
"I encourage people to be cooperative and polite," McKinley said. "It's kind of like getting stopped for traffic violation: your odds of getting a break usually increase if you're cooperative."
The police officer writes the citation, but the judge has discretion over how severe the penalty is. Excuses like "I'm not selling the beer; I'm selling the cup" or "It's cover for the band and entertainment" usually don't hold up in court, McKinley said.
Hewitt's last big party was winding down by 12:30 a.m. When people he didn't know started flooding his house, he and his roommates stopped the music and told everyone to leave.
The police stopped by as party-goers left. As Hewitt was getting the last of the guests to leave the dance floor, his roommates went out to explain that the party was over.
Hewitt's roommates were polite and had stayed sober to take care of any guests who needed help or didn't have a designated driver to take them home. There wasn't a problem.
"If you're hosting just for money, you deserve to lose a lot. That's karma," Hewitt said. "You don't actually know the people and you're probably going to be less careful with them."
Edited by Katie Gilbaugh
Alcohol fines
— Misdemeanor offenses: $50 to $500, and/or six months imprisonment
— Possession, purchase or consumption of alcohol by person 18 to 20 years old: $300 to $500,and 30 days in jail
- Minimum fine for unlawfully hosting minors consuming alcohol: $1,000
Removal of alcohol from premises licensed as private club maximum: $500
—Consumption of liquor on public property: $50 to $200, and/or six months imprisonment
http://www.lawrenceeks.org/assets/city-code/chapter04.pdf
THREE THINGS YOU MISSED AT YESTERDAY'S STUDENT SENATE MEETING
KU info budget cuts
KU Info is facing a 50-percent
funding shortfall due to budget
cuts from libraries and KU IT.
Elimination of textbook tax Members will attend Higher Education Day in Topeka on Feb. 10 and 11 to go before the State Legislature with other Kansas Regents schools to advocate for the elimination of sales tax on textbooks.
Intramural championship progress
Advancements toward an intramural championship between Mizzou were made over winter break and will continue throughout the semester. Marcus Tetwiler is working with a corporate sponsor to cover travel expenses and fundering for food.
Amelia Arvesen
A new form of digital currency known as bitcoin has recently come into prominence. Only 21 million bitcoin exist, and 12 million are currently in circulation.
MONEY
Check out the full story and podcast online
Bitcoin becoming popular form of currency
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
CODY KUIPER news@kansan.com
http://bit.ly/1e94M7t
For those casually perusing the Internet or surfing through cable news channels, the word "bitcoin" is probably seen or heard quite often. However, the concept of this new digital currency is often confusing.
It may seem like a foreign concept to many, and University economics
Bitcoin acts as a form of payment on the Internet, with buyers and sellers transferring
Although it has been around since 2009, the currency is finding itself in the limelight this week, thanks to controversy surrounding Charlie Shrem, the CEO of BitInstant, a popular bitcoin exchange website. Shrem faces accusations that he knowingly used the company to convert cash to bitcoin to be used on Silk Road, a black-market website shut down last year that is primarily used to purchase drugs. With attention like this across the media and the Internet, questions and concerns continue to pop up regarding this new, mysterious technology.
their bitcoins to and from each other's digital wallets like online file-sharing.
"It has the anonymity of cash, but the convenience of a credit card, so I'm hoping it gets bigger."
GRAHAM STEVENSON Leawood junior
"Different forms of money and payment have been used historically," Wu said. "First it was stones, precious metals or even chocolate as money, so as technology progresses you start to see these different forms take shape."
professor Shu Wu said it's not a surprising development in the way we pay for things.
How do you get bitcoin?
Many of the comparisons made for bitcoin are not to
How do you get bitcoin?
CLASSIFIEDS 13
CROSSWORD 5
cash but to gold, which is a precious, finite commodity, unlike money.
"People think of Bitcoin as a currency, but it's really more of a speculative commodity. It's sometimes easier for people to work with it when you think about it like this," said Valt Ohnesorge, a board member
CRYPTOQUIPS 1
OPINION 4
There is a finite amount of bitcoin in the world, 21 million to be exact, and 12 million are currently in circulation. In order for a bitcoin to come
SPORTS 14
SUDOKU 5
at the Lawrence Percolator, a nonprofit local art gallery that is the first business in Lawrence to accept bitcoin transactions.
Those who mine bitcoin do so by solving difficult computer algorithms, almost like computer puzzles, to release the coins. Not just
into circulation, it must first be "mined."
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
Don't Forget
SEE COIN PAGE 7
Groundhog Day is Sunday.
Today's Weather
Cloudy. 10 percent chance of rain. Wind WSW at 23 mph.